


Easier to Run

by Reed_Zone_Alert (Eliza_Reed)



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Some Humor, based on another fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26463838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliza_Reed/pseuds/Reed_Zone_Alert
Summary: The doctor’s staff fell to the floor with a loud clatter as his hand went lax. His jaw had fallen open slightly, and his feet were rooted to the floor- and this time it wasn’t due to a certain malfunction that still occasionally afflicted him to this very day. His voice caught in his throat and died a horrible death.“Hey,” the all-too familiar feline sitting at one end of the table greeted awkwardly, giving him a tiny wave.“Doctor?” A pair of large, green eyes belonging to the robot sitting next to the Lombax locked onto the doctor in question.“Nefarious!” The former villain in question found himself being forcibly pulled into the embrace of none other than Captain Copernicus Qwark himself. Not that he put up any resistance, really- he was still reeling in shock from the sight.~ A sequel fic to TheLilyoftheValley's "Day N' Nite"
Comments: 8
Kudos: 6





	Easier to Run

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Day N' Nite](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23081773) by [TheLilyoftheValley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLilyoftheValley/pseuds/TheLilyoftheValley). 



> This is a sequel of sorts to TheLilyoftheValley's fanfic "Day N' Nite", which you should totally go read right now- not just to understand the plot of this fic, but also because hers is downright AMAZING, and blows away anything I could ever do. Anyways, constructive criticism is always appreciated- flames are not.
> 
> Also, sorry if it takes me forever to get the second part of this fic up, I'm focusing on another project atm-

A familiar metallic figure sat alone on that hillside again, staring up into space (literally speaking), his thoughts slow and heavy. How many years had it been now? How many years had it been since he had left them behind on Magnus? It had to have been a few years at least, he knew. And he knew that they were alive, and still being the heroes that they were- even this far out, on the furthest edges of Polaris, bits and pieces of whatever they were up to managed to make their way here. He turned his attention back to the sheep down in their pen, who were _baa-_ ing in discomfort as they stuck their faces through the gaps in the wooden fence, trying to get the fresh green grass that lay just outside of their reach.

There was a time he might’ve laughed at their misfortune. Mocked them for it. Rubbed it in their bald faces. But now? He didn’t have it in his heart to mock the plushy, wooly creatures. It wasn’t just because of Magnus- he did come to like the sheep as he spent time helping the Perdus care for them. They were relatively peaceful animals, and a little dumb at times. But they treated him with some kindness, the sheep.

Especially when he fed them.

The lanky robot got up onto to his feet with a sigh, tugging at his robes and pulling them closer to his metallic body. Red optics flicked away from the sheep as he reached down to pick up his staff. He looked up at the night sky one last time before turning away and slowly trudging down the slope to the place he now called home. Artzain came bursting out of the hut, arms flailing about excitedly. “Hey, Doc! Doc!”

The mechanical scientist in question regarded the child with an unfazed expression. “Hmm?” he hummed to Artzain, waiting for him to get out whatever he wanted to say as they both approached the hut’s entrance.

“We’ve got visitors!! And they're from another planet! And-” Artzain’s mouth was flying a mile a minute, making it hard for the robot to understand what he was saying. It didn’t help that his audio receptors were starting to degrade again. He knew he should get new ones, but in all honesty he had enough of having his body dismantled- partially or otherwise- for one lifetime. Before Artzain could yammer any further about the subject of their “visitors,” the two of them had already entered the tiny yet generally cozy home.

The doctor’s staff fell to the floor with a loud clatter as his hand went lax. His jaw had fallen open slightly, and his feet were rooted to the floor- and this time it wasn’t due to a certain malfunction that still occasionally afflicted him to this very day. His voice caught in his throat and died a horrible death.

“Hey,” the all-too familiar feline sitting at one end of the table greeted awkwardly, giving him a tiny wave.

“Doctor?” A pair of large, green eyes belonging to the robot sitting next to the Lombax locked onto the doctor in question.

“Nefarious!” The former villain in question found himself being forcibly pulled into the embrace of none other than Captain Copernicus Qwark himself. Not that he put up any resistance, really- he was still reeling in shock from the sight.

Nefarious stiffened as his mechanical mind finally caught up in his body, and he shoved Qwark away from him. But not out of anger. Not out of hate. It was fear that took control of the robotic scientist now. He stared at Qwark for a couple of dumbfounded seconds, then whipped his head to look at Ratchet and Clank, before turning around and stumbling as fast as he could out of the hut. He didn’t get very far- he wound up tripping on a tree root and falling face-first to the ground, smacking his face into a small puddle. Nefarious scrambled to get back onto his feet, sputtering out the unwelcome liquid. He whirled back around to see Ratchet, Clank, and Lawrence trying to hold Qwark back- unsuccessfully, as the green-costumed superhero broke free of their grips and charged towards his former enemy.

“Stop-” Nefarious almost choked on his own voice as he spoke. He tugged his now mud-stained robes closer to his frame, taking a small step back. “Just stay… stay where you are,” he muttered, a little bubble of a laugh escaping his mouthpiece. A couple more giggles erupted from his chest as he hugged his arms, not even looking at the very sources of his pain.

“Doc?” Aoire stood beside Artzain, both children watching him with worry. Bari kept a gentle hold on both of them, silently keeping them close.

Nefarious’ giggles turned into full-blown laughter, and he sunk down to his knees. It took him a full minute to realise that he wasn’t laughing. He was _crying._ Droplets of oil slowly trickled down his face as he sobbed. _What am I doing- what are they_ doing _here-_ they _shouldn’t be_ here _-_

“Sir?”

Lawrence’s voice brought the currently distraught doctor back to reality. Nefarious wiped his eyes, feeling his face starting to heat up with embarrassment. “I’m fine- I’m _fine._ I’m fine,” he repeated, like a mantra, as his butler helped him back onto his feet. Nefarious shuddered quietly and finally looked up at his… friends? Former teammates? Previous targets of backstabbing? Regardless of whatever they were to him and whatever he was to them, the three inter-galactic heroes were watching him with concern. “What’re you looking at??” Nefarious demanded, his voice tired and lacking in terms of bite.

“Well, you- obviously,” Ratchet pointed out. Now that Nefarious was getting a better look at him, the robot could see the light grey streaks sprinkled throughout the Lombax’s fur. “What’re you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Nefarious retorted, his voice nearly trailing into a growl. “What _are_ the three of you doing here? Haven’t you caused me _enough_ torment already?!” His voice had begun to rise in volume as each word flew from his mouth. “WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME _BE?!?”_

“Nefarious-” Ratchet had started to speak, but the scientist interrupted.

“Oh, let me guess,” Nefarious snarled, taking a step towards the group as the feelings he’d been keeping locked away for so long finally came bursting violently to the surface, “you found out I was here, and you couldn’t let the galaxy’s most-wanted ex-supervillain just rust away into oblivion on some remote planet nobody gives a _Drophyd’s fin_ about, so you decided to come and finish me off!!” He lifted his arms up and spread them wide, exposing his abdomen that was currently only protected by the thin layer of cloth that made up his robes. “Well _go ahead-_ do it! Kill me already!! I just don’t _care_ anymore…”

“Doctor, we did not come here to kill you,” Clank said after a short pause filled with silence. “We were sent here to help with trade negotiations between the native inhabitants of this world and the Polaris government. The Perdus were kind enough to offer us a place to stay for the night, before we travel to the planet’s capital tomorrow.”

“You’re not here to arrest or kill me??” The fact that it was anything otherwise seemed absurd to Nefarious. He stared at the three heroes, positively bewildered. In that moment, he felt his mechanical heart aching again. Aching for that brief time on Magnus, back when they were all fighting side by side to stop an evil that threatened life all across the universe. But he knew there was no going back to that. And now that Bari and the children knew what he was, there was no way he could stay on this planet a moment longer either. Especially with the Polaris government apparently making contact with this planet. “Lawrence, get your things,” Nefarious ordered, his voice empty of emotion. “We’re leaving.”

“Sir, are you certain that is wise?”

“You _heard_ me. _Don’t_ make me tell you again. I’ll go see if I can fuel up the pod…” Nefarious turned away as he spoke those last few words. Qwark couldn’t take it anymore and rushed forward, grabbing the robot by his arm.

“Neffy, wait-”

Nefarious yanked his arm out of the superhero’s grasp and whipped around to face him. The scientist was still for a moment as he considered his next move. And then without warning, he grabbed Qwark and pulled him into a hug. _“There!!_ Happy _now??”_ Qwark let out a surprised noise that sounded like something between a yelp and a squeal, and happily returned the embrace.

Nefarious knew sooner or later, no matter how much he didn't want the hug to end, he was going to have to eventually pull away.

And then leave them all... again.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this chapter sucked... I'm not a 100 % happy with it myself. If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve it, please feel free to let me know. Thanks.


End file.
